In a major breakthrough, security forces on Friday busted three terrorist hideouts in the forests of Billawar in the Kathua district of Jammu and recovered empty M4 cartridges and cooking utensils indicating that the Pakistani terrorists might have taken shelter there.
A joint search operation by the J&K Police, Army and paramilitary forces was conducted following intelligence inputs.
The Indian Army and security forces have launched a massive search operation on the mountain districts of Jammu following a series of gunfights with highly trained Pakistani terrorists who managed to escape. Senior superintendent of police (Kathua district) Mohita Sharma said reliable intelligence was received regarding the movement of terrorists in the forest area of Kamaad Nallah, Kalaban, Dhanu Parole in Billawar. Acting swiftly on the intelligence input, joint teams of security forces launched a massive search operation to neutralize the terrorists.
During the operation, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on the security forces, resulting in a gunfight that continued throughout night.
During the search operation, one terrorist hideout was detected in which 2 M4 empty cartridges, one plastic box containing desi ghee, one polythene packet containing almonds, blanket, hand gloves, cooking gas cylinder, cooking oil, charger wire,torch, tarpaulin sheet and several other items were recovered.
In continuation of the ongoing search operation, on 16 January (Friday), two more terrorist hideouts were busted by the joint teams in Kalikhad and Kalaban areas of Billawar. Sharma stated that the operation is still underway and Kathua Police remains fully committed to maintain peace and security in the district.